Formative aspects of the assessment of trainees

Given the pressure to move towards more individualised training programmes, formative assessment arrangements are one way to ensure this happens. Clearly the taught programme of a course provides a common core of experience, but other elements of the course will be more individualistic.

It is possible to devise assignments, audits, monitoring and tracking against the Standards which are perfectly adequate for making summative judgments on trainees' progress against the Standards, but which trainees regard as absolutely pointless in terms of helping them to get better . Working out how to use these assessment points effectively in identifying individual needs and thus moving a trainee forward, as well as measuring progress and providing ‘evidence' of this is a complex and interesting challenge.

Although the idea of ‘target setting' is a well established process in most ITT courses, there are different views about what makes it effective. For example, not everyone agrees that all targets should be ‘SMART'; there are different views as to how many targets should be given to trainees at a particular time, and there is a continuum between ‘hard-edged' targets and ‘things to think about' in more general terms. A related aspect to target setting is the need to devise suitable strategies or training activities that will help trainees make progress towards meeting the target(s). Obviously focused practice has a critical role to play, but it is of no help to a trainee whose target is to ‘improve the starts of lessons' simply to suggest that they do this by ‘improving the start of lessons'! They need to be offered more specific suggestions about how to improve: for example by focused observation, trialling particular techniques or reviewing the KS3 materials in relation to starters. Mentors and trainees need support with both the setting of targets and strategies.

In reality, everything a trainee undertakes on the course should be seen as a training activity that will help them move forward in their progress against the Standards. This includes written assignments which ought to contribute formatively to progress in the Standards rather than just measuring the extent to which trainees have met elements of the Standards.

Activity 5.5.1 Using formative assessment to move forward

Activity 5.5.2 Working with mentors and trainees on target setting

Activity 5.5.3 Target setting in practice

Activity 5.5.4 Formative use of written assignments